Decided to cook tonight and what better dish to prepare on a cold winter night than a hearty stew using beer to tenderize some chewy beef. I plated the stew on a bed of creamy chive and onion mash potatoes. I think I added just a dash too much sugar to balance out the bitterness of the beer but it still came out fabulous and photographed great!
Ingredients [Four large servings]
- 4 strips bacon, sliced into small pieces
- 2 1/2 lb. beef chuck, cut in 2-inch pieces [tossed with black pepper and at least 1 tsp salt]
- 2 onions [chopped]
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 4 cloves garlic [minced]
- 1 can of Guinness or other dark beer [14oz.]
- 1/4 cup tomato paste
- 4 sprigs of fresh thyme
- 3 carrots cut into 1-inch pieces
- 2 ribs celery cut into 1-inch pieces
- 2 1/2 cups chicken stock or as needed
- 1 tsp sugar
- Simmer stew on very low heat, covered, for about 2 hours, or until fork tender
- Uncover, raise heat to med-high, and reduce, stirring occasionally, until sauce thickens to your liking
- Taste and adjust seasoning!